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As we started to fall I thought to myself, Are you nuts? What if you die?

I was pulled from that cheery thought by Terrem. He was giggling and struggling to leave my grip.
“This is fun.” I whispered in his ear as I held him tighter. The ring was working; we were moving fairly slowly. Slow enough that Myntilly was able to catch up with us by flying. I looked over my shoulder and saw Sadi and Ian walking down the walls of the tunnel. Boots of Spider Climb — I should get some of those, I thought.

Terrem and I landed well, with him on top of me (I didn’t want to crush him — dwarves are dense!) I tried to prop myself up and my hand felt something squishy. I rolled over and was face to face with one of the half-orcs we’d tossed down the well. He was still conscious and don’t think I didn’t have a twinge of guilt about that. I leaned over him. “Do you wish to confess your sins, my son?” The least I could do was to send him to Gruumsh with a light heart.
He licked his lips and whispered: “Watch out.”
It took a moment to understand his words and then I looked around me.

We were surrounded by beholder-kin. I stood up with Terrem slightly behind me. It dind’t help, really because there were ‘kin all around. Suddenly Terrem yelped and shook his hand. “It tingles! Gross!”
A moment later my own hands began to buzz, almost like when your hand is waking up after being “asleep”. That pins and needles feeling.
I looked at the beholder-kin. They looked at me. I looked up the tunnel. “HELP!”

I collected my thoughts for a moment. What do I know about beholders? Their main eye has an anti-magic ray. I needed all of their eyes pointing in one direction so that we could use magic from behind. I let out a warcry and ran to one end of the room. “Feel my steel! You big… fat beholders….” OK, not my best work, but I was in a hurry. It worked — they all turned to look at me.
From somewhere up the tunnel, I heard a twang and one ‘kin went down to Sadi’s arrows.

Myntilly, Ian and Acgar were able to add to the battle. They picked the beholder-kin off one by one. Without the anti-magic ray, they were easy enough opponents.

We, me and Terrem, were the only enemies within reach, so we each got zapped with some nasty stuff. I saw Terrem collapse at one point. I couldn’t tell if he was alive or not and first chance, I raced to his side. A cold spell had sapped his warmth. I healed him and was hit by the same sort of cold spell. It hurts. Cold that cold actually burns.

In the melee, I told Terrem to stay crouched down by the orc bodies.

When there was only one ‘kin left standing, Ian and Acgar dropped from the tunnel. We squared off and dropped the last one.

“It’s good to see you guys. Thanks for rescuing me and Terrem.”
Acgar clapped me on the shoulder. “I think this illustrates the old saying ‘Look before you leap.'”